Poconostics: Portable Computational Dynamic Posturography for SOT and Balance Training in Clinic and Field Sites

Providing timely rehabilitation assistance and support to the injured service members can lower the risks of prolonging symptoms, delaying return to duty, and increasing perceived disability; and is crucial to maintaining mobility, survivability, lethality, and adaptability of our US Armed Forces. In addition, determining return-to-duty (RTD) readiness after such injuries is essential for the safety of service members and their unit. The rehabilitation training and RTD readiness assessment require multi-faceted performance assessment, combining screening for vestibular, cognitive, auditory, visual, and musculoskeletal deficiencies. Balance training and identification of postural instability in specific are essential parts of military screening protocols and are recommended as primary measurement tools for RTD decision making. However, the computational dynamic posturography devices and other balance training systems such as Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) are costly, heavy, and their foot print is beyond the space resources of many military clinics. Poconostics is a customizable, portable, and low-cost Computerized Dynamic Posturography and Balance Training System. Based on a platform with effective sensing and actuation mechanisms to deliver perturbations in the anterior-posterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) planes, as well as other directions, Poconostics is designed to deliver Sensory Organization Tests and balance training in clinics and field environments.